JP2012101479A - Image forming apparatus, method of starting hard disk drive, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus in which retry frequency or a timeout value in starting processing of HDD can properly be set responding to an operating state of the image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes an HDD controller 11, an HDD12 and a microcomputer 3. The microcomputer 3 functions as a determination means to determine an operating state of the image forming apparatus 1, and a setting means to set retry frequency or a timeout value when starting processing of HDD12 based on the determination result, and the microcomputer 3 and the HDD controller 11 functions as a starting means to perform starting processing of the HDD12 based on the set retry frequency or the timeout value.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a hard disk device activation method, and a program, and more particularly to a technique for retrying a hard disk device activation process included in an image forming apparatus.

  An image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine represented by an MFP (Multi Function Printer) compresses the read image data, stores the compressed image data in a storage device, and then reads the compressed image data from the storage device. Thus, an expansion process is performed to form an image. In such an image forming apparatus, a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) may be mounted to store image data, user management information, and the like.

  Some HDDs as described above have an error retry function. When an access request is given from the host side to the HDD, the HDD executes the requested access process between the host side and the HDD. When the access process is not completed normally and an error occurs, an error retry process is performed according to a predetermined procedure.

  Conventionally, as a technique related to the HDD error retry function, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique for suppressing occurrence of a timeout error on the host side during retry processing of a disk storage device. According to this, when a reset request is given to the disk storage device from the host side due to a timeout error detection on the host side during the retry processing in the disk storage device, the fact is stored and the host side When the same access request that was previously retried to the disk storage device is given from the disk storage device, the monitoring time is extended on the host side by notifying the host side of the specific error code from the disk storage device. Therefore, the occurrence of timeout error detection is suppressed.

Further, in Patent Document 2, when the retry process cannot be completed within the monitoring time at the time of media check for detecting whether or not there is an error area in the hard disk device, the setting value of the monitoring time is increased stepwise, A technique for preventing a timeout error during retry processing is described.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-259561 describes a technique for measuring the retry time of each hard disk device constituting a disk array and setting a minimum number of retries so that the entire system does not time out.

JP 2002-358170 A JP 2000-293318 A JP 2001-331279 A

  Here, in the MFP equipped with the HDD, a startup process is performed between the HDD and the HDD controller when the main power of the MFP is turned on or when the MFP returns from the energy saving mode. In this start-up process, the mutual recognition and data transfer rate negotiation sequence is executed between the HDD and the HDD controller. When the sequence is completed once or when it is completed by a plurality of retry processes, Alternatively, the retry process may not complete and an error may occur.

  Since the number of retries (or timeout value) in the HDD activation process is usually constant regardless of the operation state of the MFP, for example, when the main power of the MFP is turned on, the MFP returns from the energy saving mode. The same number of retries is set for each case. However, when the main power of the MFP is turned on, it is considered that the user will not use the MFP immediately. Therefore, it is desirable to increase the number of retries and improve the accuracy with which the HDD startup process can be completed. Also, when the MFP returns from the energy saving mode, it is considered that the user will immediately use the MFP. Therefore, if the number of HDD retries is increased too much, the startup time of the entire MFP system will be prolonged and the user will feel uncomfortable. there is a possibility. For this reason, it is desirable to set the number of retries so as not to give the user a sense of incongruity and not to spend more time than necessary for the HDD startup process.

  As described above, it is desirable that the number of retries is appropriately set according to the operation state of the MFP. However, the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 prevent the occurrence of a timeout error by extending the monitoring time when the HDD is retried. Therefore, the technique described in Patent Document 3 reduces the number of HDD retries to the minimum so that the entire system does not time out. Therefore, with the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the number of retries in the HDD activation process cannot be set appropriately in accordance with the operation state of the MFP.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an image forming apparatus and a hard disk apparatus capable of appropriately setting the number of retries or a timeout value in HDD startup processing in accordance with the operation state of the image forming apparatus. It is an object to provide an activation method and a program.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a first technical means of the present invention is an image forming apparatus including a hard disk device, wherein a determination unit that determines an operation state of the image forming apparatus and the determination result based on the determination result A setting means for setting the number of retries or a timeout value at the time of starting processing of the hard disk device, and a starting means for executing the starting processing of the hard disk device based on the set number of retries or timeout value It is a thing.

  According to a second technical means, in the first technical means, the determination means sets the image forming apparatus in an operating state when the main power is turned on, and the image forming apparatus returns from the energy saving mode. The operation state is determined to be either a state in which the image forming apparatus returns from a FAX night standby mode.

  A third technical means includes a data table in which the number of retries or a time-out value is registered for each operation state of the image forming apparatus in the first or second technical means, and the setting means is determined by the determination means. Further, the number of retries or a timeout value is set by referring to the data table based on the operation state of the image forming apparatus.

  A fourth technical means is a method for starting a hard disk device included in an image forming apparatus, a determination step for determining an operation state of the image forming apparatus, and a retry at the time of start processing of the hard disk device based on the determination result. A setting step for setting the number of times or a timeout value, and a startup step for executing the startup process of the hard disk device based on the set number of retries or the timeout value are provided.

  The fifth technical means is a program for causing a computer to execute the hard disk device activation method in the fourth technical means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the operation state of the image forming apparatus and appropriately set the number of retries or the timeout value in the HDD startup process based on the determination result. Convenience can be improved.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the retry table stored in a non-volatile memory. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the starting method of the hard-disk apparatus by this invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a method for setting a status in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an image forming apparatus, a hard disk device activation method, and a program according to the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus 1 controls the operation of a user interface (user I / F) 2 constituted by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) with a touch panel that performs various displays and receives operation inputs from the user, and the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. A microcomputer 3 including a CPU, a microcomputer 3, a nonvolatile memory 5, and a local bus 4 for connecting an RTC 13 (real time clock); a nonvolatile memory 5 for storing programs executed in the microcomputer 3 and various data tables; A scanner unit 6 that reads a document image and inputs image data, and a printing unit 7 that prints image data input from a PC (personal computer) 19 or image data stored in the HDD 12 are provided.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus 1 connects an image processing unit 8 that performs various image processing on the image data input from the scanner unit 6 and outputs the processed image data to the printing unit 7, a microcomputer 3, an image processing unit 8, and an HDD controller 11. A PCI bus 9, a working memory 10 of the image processing unit 8, an HDD controller 11 for controlling the HDD 12, an HDD 12 for storing image data and user management information, an RTC 13 for performing a clock function, and a FAX A FAX unit 14 connected to the apparatus 17 via a FAX line 16 and a network interface (network I / F) 15 connected to a PC 19 via a LAN (local area network) 18 are provided.

  The image forming apparatus 1 can be exemplified as an MFP having a copy function, a print function, and a FAX function. Hereinafter, the operation of each of these functions will be described.

  In the case of the copy function, the image data read by the scanner unit 6 is sent to the image processing unit 8, and the image processing unit 8 performs image processing on the image data to generate compressed image data. The compressed image data generated by the image processing unit 8 is written to the HDD 12 via the HDD controller 11. At the time of printing, compressed image data is read from the HDD 12 via the HDD controller 11, decompressed by the image processing unit 8, and print image data is generated. The print image data generated by the image processing unit 8 is output to the printing unit 7 and printed by the printing unit 7.

  In the case of the print function, the microcomputer 3 receives image data from the PC 19 via the LAN 18, and the microcomputer 3 transfers this image data to the image processing unit 8 via the PCI bus 9. The image processing unit 8 compresses the image data received from the microcomputer 3 to generate compressed image data, and writes the compressed image data to the HDD 12 via the HDD controller 11. At the time of printing, compressed image data is read from the HDD 12 via the HDD controller 11, decompressed by the image processing unit 8, and print image data is generated. The print image data generated by the image processing unit 8 is output to the printing unit 7 and printed by the printing unit 7.

  In the case of the FAX function, when the FAX unit 14 receives FAX data from the FAX apparatus 17 via the FAX line 16, the FAX unit 14 inquires the microcomputer 3 whether the image forming apparatus 1 can receive image data. After permission from the microcomputer 3, it responds to the line and starts receiving FAX data. The received FAX data is sequentially sent to the microcomputer 3 and stored as compressed image data in the HDD 12 via the HDD controller 11. After the FAX reception is completed, the compressed image data is read from the HDD 12 via the HDD controller 11, decompression processing is performed as described above, and the print image data is output to the printing unit 7.

  The main feature of the present invention is that the number of retries or the timeout value in the HDD activation process is appropriately set according to the operating state of the image forming apparatus. As a configuration for this, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an HDD 12 that is a hard disk device, a determination unit that determines an operation state of the image forming apparatus 1, and a retry count or a timeout value ( Hereinafter, setting means for setting (represented by the number of retries) and startup means for executing startup processing of the HDD 12 based on the set number of retries are provided.

  In the example of FIG. 1, functions as determination means and setting means are realized by the microcomputer 3, and functions as start-up means are realized by the microcomputer 3 and the HDD controller 11. Specifically, a program for causing a computer to execute functions as a determination unit, a setting unit, and an activation unit is stored in the nonvolatile memory 5, and the microcomputer 3 reads the program from the nonvolatile memory 5 when the program is executed. Is read and executed.

  As described above, the startup process of the HDD 12 is a sequence process for performing mutual recognition and data transfer rate negotiation between the HDD 12 and the HDD controller 11, and by exchanging predetermined commands, Recognize and determine the data transfer rate. Specifically, it is also defined in technical specifications such as “Serial ATA Revision 2.5”, and a description thereof is omitted here. This activation process is performed when the HDD 12 and the HDD controller 11 are activated from a state where power supply is stopped. That is, there are three main cases in which the image forming apparatus 1 is started by turning on the main power, the image forming apparatus 1 returns from the energy saving mode, and the image forming apparatus 1 returns from the FAX night standby mode. In both cases, the power supply to the HDD 12 and the HDD controller 11 is stopped, so that the HDD 12 is started up.

  However, regardless of the operation state of the image forming apparatus 1 described above, if the start processing conditions of the HDD 12 are set constant, the number of retries will be excessive or insufficient. For this reason, the microcomputer 3 sets the operation state of the image forming apparatus 1 as a state in which the image forming apparatus 1 is activated by turning on the main power, the state in which the image forming apparatus 1 returns from the energy saving mode, and the image forming apparatus 1 in the FAX night standby mode. The operation state of one of the states to return from is determined. Then, the microcomputer 3 sets the number of retries for the activation process based on the determination result. Specifically, a retry table corresponding to a data table in which the number of retries is registered for each operation state of the image forming apparatus 1 is stored in the nonvolatile memory 5. The microcomputer 3 can set the number of retries by referring to this retry table based on the determination result of the operation state of the image forming apparatus 1.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a retry table stored in the nonvolatile memory 5. In this retry table, the status indicates the operating state of the image forming apparatus 1. In this example, “0” is a state where the main power is turned on, “1” is a state where the energy saving mode is restored, and “2” is a FAX nighttime. It shows a state of returning from the standby mode. This status is updated and stored in the non-volatile memory 5 when the main power supply is turned off, or when shifting to the energy saving mode or the FAX night standby mode. That is, the status “0” is stored when the main power supply of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned off, and the status “1” is stored when the image forming apparatus 1 shifts to the energy saving mode. Status "2" is stored when the mode is shifted to the FAX night standby mode.

  Next, when the main power supply of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on or when the image forming apparatus 1 is returned from each of the above modes, the microcomputer 3 acquires the status stored in the nonvolatile memory 5. The number of retries corresponding to the acquired status can be specified from the retry table of FIG. 2, and the number of retries can be set in the HDD controller 11. Here, the case where the number of retries is registered in the retry table is illustrated, but it goes without saying that a timeout value may be registered instead of the number of retries.

  The number of retries registered in the retry table of FIG. 2 is not particularly limited. However, when the main power source of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, it is considered that the user does not use the image forming apparatus 1 immediately. It is desirable to increase the number of retries and improve the accuracy with which the startup process of the HDD 12 can be completed. As a result of the retry, the startup process of the HDD 12 may not be completed. In this case, the user may be notified that an error has occurred in the HDD 12 as an error process.

  In addition, when the image forming apparatus 1 returns from the energy saving mode, it is considered that the user uses the image forming apparatus 1 immediately. Therefore, if the number of retries of the HDD 12 is increased too much, the time until the entire system starts up becomes longer. May give you a sense of incongruity. For this reason, it is desirable to set the number of retries so as not to give the user a sense of incongruity and not to spend more time than necessary for the startup process of the HDD 12. As described above, the HDD 12 startup process may not be completed as a result of the retry. In this case, as an error process, the user is notified that an error has occurred in the HDD 12. May be. Even when an error occurs in the HDD 12, the entire system can be started up normally by the degenerate operation.

  In the FAX night standby mode, power supply to the scanner unit 6, the printing unit 7, and the HDD 12 is stopped, and the FAX unit 14 enters a FAX incoming call waiting state. In this case, the HDD 12 activation process is started in response to the FAX call, but it is necessary to complete the HDD 12 activation process between the FAX call and the response. Therefore, the number of retries is set so that the retry process is completed within the time required from the FAX call to response. As a result of the retry, the HDD 12 start-up process may not be completed. In this case, the user may be notified that FAX reception is not possible due to an HDD 12 error.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a method of starting the hard disk device according to the present invention. First, when the image forming apparatus 1 is activated by turning on the main power source, when resuming from the energy saving mode, or when resuming from the FAX night standby mode, the image forming apparatus 1 starts the activation process of the HDD 12 (step S1). The microcomputer 3 reads the current status of the image forming apparatus 1 stored in the non-volatile memory 5 (step S2) and refers to the retry table stored in the non-volatile memory 5 based on the status. The number of times is acquired (step S3). In the retry table of FIG. 2, if the status is “0”, the retry count is 25, if the status is “1”, the retry count is 18 and if the status is “2”, the retry count is 10 times.

  Next, the microcomputer 3 sets the number of retries acquired in step S3 in the register of the HDD controller 11, and the startup process is executed between the HDD controller 11 and the HDD 12 based on the number of retries (step S4). Then, the microcomputer 3 determines whether the startup process of the HDD 12 is successful (step S5). Whether or not the activation process is successful can be determined by writing a success flag in the register of the HDD controller 11 when the activation process is successful, for example. As a result of the determination in step S5, the microcomputer 3 sets the status value of the nonvolatile memory 5 to “0” and shifts to a normal sequence when it is determined that the startup process of the HDD 12 is successful (in the case of YES) ( Step S6). If it is determined in step S5 that the HDD 12 startup process has not been successful (NO), it is determined whether the number of retries has been reached (step S7).

  Next, if the microcomputer 3 determines in step S7 that the number of retries has not been reached (in the case of NO), the microcomputer 3 returns to step S4 to retry the HDD 12 activation process. In step S7, when the number of retries has been reached (in the case of YES), the status value of the nonvolatile memory 5 is set to “0” and the process proceeds to an error sequence (step S8). This error sequence is a process for notifying the user that an error has occurred in the HDD 12, for example.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a method for setting a status in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention. In this example, it is assumed that the status value of the image forming apparatus 1 is set to “0” (initial value) and stored in the nonvolatile memory 5. First, the microcomputer 3 monitors the state of the image forming apparatus 1 (step S11), and determines whether or not the image forming apparatus 1 has shifted to the energy saving mode (step S12). If the microcomputer 3 determines that the image forming apparatus 1 has shifted to the energy saving mode (YES), the microcomputer 3 sets the status value to “1” and stores it in the nonvolatile memory 5 (step S13). If the microcomputer 3 determines in step S12 that it has not shifted to the energy saving mode (in the case of NO), it determines whether or not the image forming apparatus 1 has shifted to the FAX night standby mode (step S14).

  If it is determined in step S14 that the image forming apparatus 1 has shifted to the FAX night standby mode (YES), the microcomputer 3 sets the status value to “2” and stores it in the nonvolatile memory 5 (step S15). ). Moreover, when it determines with not having transfered to the FAX night standby mode in step S14 (in the case of NO), it complete | finishes as it is.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention and the method for starting the hard disk device included in the apparatus have been described above. However, the present invention may be in the form of a program for causing a computer to execute the method for starting the hard disk device.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the operation state of the image forming apparatus can be determined, and the number of retries or the timeout value in the HDD start-up process can be appropriately set based on the determination result. Reliability and convenience can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 2 ... User I / F, 3 ... Microcomputer, 4 ... Local bus, 5 ... Non-volatile memory, 6 ... Scanner unit, 7 ... Printing unit, 8 ... Image processing part, 9 ... PCI bus, 10 ... Memory, 11 ... HDD controller, 12 ... HDD, 13 ... RTC, 14 ... FAX unit, 15 ... Network I / F, 16 ... FAX line, 17 ... FAX device, 18 ... LAN, 19 ... PC.

Claims (5)

An image forming apparatus including a hard disk device,
A determination unit that determines an operation state of the image forming apparatus; a setting unit that sets a retry count or a timeout value during the startup process of the hard disk device based on the determination result; and the set retry count or timeout value. An image forming apparatus comprising: an activation unit that executes activation processing of the hard disk device based on the image forming apparatus.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit includes, as an operation state of the image forming apparatus, a state in which the image forming apparatus is activated by turning on a main power supply, a state in which the image forming apparatus is returned from an energy saving mode, An image forming apparatus comprising: determining an operation state of the image forming apparatus in a state of returning from a FAX night standby mode.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a data table in which a retry count or a timeout value is registered for each operation state of the image forming apparatus, and the setting unit determines the image forming determined by the determining unit. An image forming apparatus, wherein the number of retries or a timeout value is set by referring to the data table based on an operation state of the apparatus. A method of starting a hard disk device provided in an image forming apparatus,
A determination step for determining an operation state of the image forming apparatus; a setting step for setting a retry count or a timeout value at the start-up process of the hard disk device based on the determination result; and the set retry count or timeout value. A hard disk device booting method, comprising: a booting step for executing the hard disk device boot processing based on the hard disk device booting process.   A program for causing a computer to execute the method for starting a hard disk device according to claim 4.

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